According to the Algerian constitution, a wilaya is a
territorial collectivity enjoying economic and diplomatic freedom,
the APW, or "Popular Provincial Parliament/Provincial Popular
Parliament" (the Assemblée
Populaire Wilayale, in
French) is the political entity governing a province, directed by
the "Wali" (Governor), who is chosen by the Algerian President to handle the APW's
decisions, the APW has also a president, who is elected by the
members of the APW, which is elected by Algerians.

Map of the provinces of Algeria numbered
according to the official order.

The province numbers are the first 31 provinces (see the second
section) in Arabicalphabetical
order, after the adding of 17 other provinces in 1983, the old
numbering was kept and the 17 new provinces have been assigned
codes from 32-48, in Arabic alphabetical order. There are 48
provinces (since 1983) in Algeria, they are: